This invention relates to a gas exhaustion device for an inboard/outboard engine and more particularly to an improved arrangement for interconnecting flexible and rigid components.
In many forms of fluid conduits, one or more rigid conduits are interconnected with each other by means of a flexible conduit. The flexible conduit has its opposite ends connected to the rigid conduits in a telescopic fashion and some form of clamp retains the flexible conduit to the rigid conduits. This type of arrangement is commonly used in the exhaust system for an inboard/outboard drive wherein the exhaust gases and some or all of the engine coolant are discharged from an inboard mounted engine through the transom of the watercraft to a below the water exhaust gas discharge formed in the lower unit of the outboard drive. Normally, these systems include a number of rigid components that are connected by flexible hoses. Hose clamps retain the hoses in position. With this type of system, it is frequently desirable to remove the flexible hose in order to inspect the conduits and components positioned within them. For example, frequently there may be employed a valve in the conduit that will permit exhaust gases to flow outwardly but which will preclude water from flowing lack into the engine when the engine is not running. Normally, this type of valve is positioned in a vertically extending part of the conduit. When the hose clamp is removed in order to remove the flexible hose, frequently the hose clamp may drop down into the lower portion of the hull. As such, it is very difficult to retrieve and this presents obvious problems.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved exhaust gas device for an outboard/outboard engine.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for coupling conduits together in a fluid system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a fluid coupling system wherein host clamps are employed and that incorporates an arrangement for insuring that the host clamp, even when released, will not become lost.